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William Ernest Fryer - Information

When William decided to join the colours, he was living on Jane St in Penrith with his wife, Violet. William and his parents lived in the Camden area, where he served in the 2nd Light Horse at Picton. In Penrith, William continued to serve in the Field Artillery and worked as a boilermaker’s assistant. In 1915, when William was 29, he tried to enlist in the AIF in Sydney, however, was rejected for having bad teeth. On the 20th of September 1915, he tried again at Holsworthy. He was accepted, and due to his superb horseman skills, was posted as a Trooper to the 3rd Squadron, 2nd Remount Unit. He was then sent overseas on the HMAT Orsova, which sailed from Sydney Harbour on the 10th of November 1915.

The Orsova landed in Egypt, where William shortly joined his unit at Tel-e-Kebir. The Remount Unit was responsible for looking after and training horses for mounted units. While performing his duties at the stables, he went absent without leave and was severely reprimanded. Throughout 1916, the Remount Units were demobilised. Consequently, William was sent back to Australia on the Seang Bee, departing Suez, on the 31st of May 1916. He was discharged in June and returned home to his lovely wife.